Dancing in silence: how are silent discos in New York

The new romance of New York is silent parties. Photo: Katya Kostyukova.

New passion for New Yorkers - "quiet parties" - is gradually taking over America. Every day, completely different people gather in one of the points of the country, put on illuminated headphones and quietly go crazy. “Forum” found out what was heard in the ears of these people, who came up with it all, and why there are so many people kissing at parties.

Silent parties in bars and nightclubs gather up to three thousand people. Photo: Katya Kostyukova

At 11:30 p.m., the entrance to the open-air Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden bar in Astoria is quiet, although organizers promised a thousand people. We go inside - everything is already here. Hundreds of absolutely happy eyes and ears: everyone around is dancing with headphones on, and the headphones change color. It turns out that there are three channels, each with its own DJ. Three colors – three different genres. Blue is house, red is nineties, green is hip-hop. Switch in the earphone. I immediately want to dance.

A surprising fact: people at quiet parties almost do not drink. Enough music for fun. Photo: Katya Kostyukova

Dance as if no one hears

At the “quiet parties” the dancers received the DJ control panel for the first time: I don’t like the music - switch to another wave. DJs, seeing that everybody is switching to one channel, trying even more - and the music becomes even better.

No dress code. Age restrictions are very relative. Photo: Katya Kostyukova

Teenagers, grandmothers and grandfathers, groups of friends, clerks in suits dance - lovers of very different music. In the end, on one of the channels there is definitely something for everyone.

Remove headphones, talk without shouting, and suddenly hear how everyone around is singing softly - everyone sings along with his music. Sing, by the way, not bad. Photo: Katya Kostyukova

If you stay up late, you can see how many people around start hugging and kissing. Moreover, very often the color of the headphones shows that while dancing together, they, nevertheless, listen to different music.

“It's like nothing else. I'm from New York, so it's hard to surprise me, but this is something! Everyone should try this at least once. We will definitely be coming here again,” says Caitlin, who came to the party with her boyfriend James. According to her, all the bars in the city are basically the same: music and alcohol. At silent discos you can choose your own music and the people around you are “great, everyone is cheerful, everyone knows how to have fun.”

Caitlin and James recommend quiet parties to all adventure seekers in the big city. Photo: Katya Kostyukova

William Petz, founder of Quiet Parties, claims that the number of romances that occur at his parties cannot be found anywhere else. He believes that the point is the intimacy that unites people wearing headphones, their isolation from the outside world, and also the ability to communicate calmly, without shouting over the music and noise, by removing the headphones.

William Petz, founder of Quiet Parties. Photo: Katya Kostyukova

“Silent parties” are gaining popularity not only among club lovers. Colored headphones are already being successfully rented out for “quiet corporate events”, stand-up comedy evenings with two or three comedians on different channels. There are also tours of New York, combining an intensive historical walk through the city, a disco, flash mobs and performances, which are discussed below.

"Silent Parties" came to New York in 2012. William Petz, an entrepreneur from New York, spotted the idea on a cruise in the Caribbean, where something similar was organized by a British entertainment agency. “I came to the states and decided: we need to do the same here. We have to try,” says the 36-year-old entrepreneur.

In London, quiet parties have been practicing for about ten years and call them “silent discos”. In the US, they initially did not go very well because of the name. “In America, no one goes to discos. We have clubbing here - go to clubs. Therefore, we first renamed the disco club “quiet clubbing”. And the British have underground music, and we have dance music designed for the mainstream. We also changed the number of channels - the British have two, we have three. Their headphones are not highlighted, our color changes depending on the choice of music. You can see who is listening. And this is the key to success, because you want to see what people are listening to, dance under, switch and try, too, ”lists his differences from the British Petz.

At first, the people of the party did not perceive and were shy. Photo: Katya Kostyukova

At first, the parties were wary. “Everyone said: well, somehow it is very strange. People were shy. And at the first parties we waited an hour until someone started dancing. Now - headphones in hand, and immediately to the dance floor. And most importantly, there is no riot here. For three years we have not had a single fight! ”, The entrepreneur rejoices.

Only in New York, around 60000 people regularly go to quiet parties. Parties take place almost every day, sometimes two or three a day. Photo: Katya Kostyukova

“I love seeing how people's attitudes change as they get involved in the process. Such a guy comes and - “This is somehow too strange, stupid, and not for me at all.” But by the end he screams: “Oh God! This is the best party of my life!”

At large silent parties the price for admission is usually $5-15, at small parties for less than a hundred people it is $25. Compared to the cost of admission to “normal” clubs in New York, this is quite adequate.

"Silent tours"

A separate kind of parties in silence is “quiet tours”. Although quiet they can be called with a very big stretch.

Every evening, somewhere in New York, someone puts on headphones and quietly goes crazy. Photo: Katya Kostyukova

Saturday. 7: 30 PM. Buttery Park, the waterfront at the southernmost edge of Manhattan.

At sunset, about a hundred people gather at the Garden Cafe, order beer and wine, put on headphones and wait. Will takes the microphone and says that the program today includes music, dancing, a history tour and flash mobs. No one yet knows that everything will happen at the same time. But when they find out, everyone is ready to complete the tasks - Will says it’s too cheerful, and the music is great, and you want to dance right now.

The guide, Will's assistant, begins with interesting facts about New York. The music in the headphones plays the background: it turns out that the history lesson is combined with dancing with a bang. Further - only more interesting.

A strolling couple suddenly turned out to be part of a silent party. They put on headphones, forced to dance and kiss. It was not necessary to persuade. Photo: Katya Kostyukova

Will in an easy and fun manner gives commands, mainly - to dismiss passers-by. Commands are simple and generally harmless. Climbing the entire crowd in the frame of the tourists - why do they need single photos? Chant “Kiss!” To loving couples and put their headphones on them so that they will immediately enter the rhythm. Dance with young children. Break into someone's wedding. Line up in front of people dining at an expensive restaurant, shouting “Welcome to New York!” And then handing out your headphones to people sitting at tables. Further - nothing is needed: having heard the music, restaurant visitors abruptly throw their lobsters and rush to dance. They rejoice like children.

It turns out that for happiness you need only a pair of headphones with a backlight and a good DJ. Photo: Katya Kostyukova

The world is increasingly inclined to individualized services (for example, personal radio stations), so discos in silence have a lot of potential to become parties of the future. In the end, you can after all each issue a separate music. But for now, Will has a plan: to expand around the world. “I want access to our headphones in every city. And then - in every country. All people have the right to a holiday - let this holiday look strange, it is inside you, ”says the entrepreneur.

Party schedule can be viewed here.

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